2 youth named Military Child of the Year semifinalists

Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit that works to build strong, stable, and secure military and veteran families.

The Military Child of the Year Award is a tribute to the accomplishments of military children, recognizing the positive influence they have on their families, schools and communities despite the unique challenges they often face.

Among the 68 semifinalists selected from across the world, two are from Onslow County and represent the U.S. Marine Corps — Hannah Kirksey, of Sneads Ferry, and Daniel Prane, of Swansboro.

Finalists will be selected in February by a panel of independent, volunteer judges.

Prane was born in Hawaii but has lived in many places due to his father's military service, including in Iowa, Virginia and Canada. His father recently retired from the Marine Corps after serving for 21 years.

Kirksey was not available for an interview.

"It's been awesome to go on all these different adventures around the world, experiencing new cultures, languages, meeting new people," Prane said. "We always talk about our neighborhood in Canada, like how it was just a great group of people.

"We've kind of made the most of every single place that we've (gone)."

It was Prane's father who nominated him for the Military Child of the Year Award.

Prane said his father is a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps instructor at Havelock High School and is always looking for opportunities for him.

Prane said he's enjoyed the process of applying for Military Child of the Year.

"It was just a very neat reflection kind of process of what's happened throughout my entire life as a military child, reflecting on the different places I've been, people I've met and all that kind of stuff," he said.

Prane is an active member of his school and his community, serving as captain for the Swansboro High School swim team and as vice president for the National English Honors Society. He's also a member of Student 2 Student, the Unified Sports Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Prane said he's also an Eagle Scout and a certified lifeguard. He even just started helping out with the Special Olympics swim team.

Being named a semifinalist for Military Child of the Year is an "honor," he said.

"I'm really just like any other military child," Prane said. "There's not a huge difference between me and anybody else who's had military parents, but it feels great because it's nice to be recognized for something that you didn't really think you could get recognized for.

"It's just a way of life for me. It's not something worth recognizing."

Although growing up as a military child did have its challenges, Prane said he has overall enjoyed it.

He said that if anything, his father's service brought his family closer together.

"It always (did) suck when dad had to leave for a while but my mom and my whole family, we grew closer together," Prane said. "We supported each other through everything, and this whole experience has made us a stronger family in general."

Prane is a senior at Swansboro High but he's already been accepted into Appalachian State University's Honors College, where he plans to major in psychology.

He will also be joining the school's ROTC program, with plans to commission into the U.S. Army as an officer upon graduation.

"I always try to say, be pretty optimistic, be involved wherever you go, because the more involved that you are, the more people you get to meet, the easier it is to go to new places, new schools and all that," Prane said. "Just take everything as a new adventure, kind of like how my mom and my dad have always worded it for us.

"It's always a new adventure."

Once Military Child of the Year finalists are named in February, seven award recipients, one representing each branch of the military, will be announced in March.

Each winner will receive $10,000, a laptop and other donated gifts at an April gala held in their honor in Washington, D.C.